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I’ve heard this statement “again” today, which I told them this analogy that I thought of years ago..

When I went to school growing-up, I was bullied and teased. I actually had days I didn’t want to go to school or just regretted going. However, I kept “forcing” myself as I wanted to get my “education” and be successful in life. I’m glad I didn’t “quit” or I would’ve not been where I’m at right now. I’m not saying school is like church, but it’s a “man-made institution”. There is “imperfectness” in any type of “institution” (run by people)!…government 😉 As long as these institutions are “led” by people, it’s always going to be “corrupt” (see Deep Thought: Who to “blame” for the world’s corruption? ) in some sort of way. There are places that are more “Godly” than others, but the key thing is prayer! Keep praying for these people. Before I go to work, I “try” to pray-sing the “Lord’s Prayer” that His kingdom will come to my workplace.

I just thought of this, where do you work at? Do you look forward to going to work? Are there people that you “disliked” or have been “offended” by something he/she did? Do you still go to work? Why? How do you deal with it?

Articles

Help in Overcoming Church Hurt Article by Josh Moody Guest Contributor desiringgod.org“As a pastor of a church, I’ve heard stories from people who have found church confusing, contrarian, or even damaging. Not every church hurts people, but most churches have hurt someone at some point. Some people are hurt through their own mistakes, others because of sin committed against them, and still others because of failed leadership. This reality can leave them reluctant to re-engage, afraid of being hurt again, wanting to protect themselves, and questioning the place of church in their lives. The good news for the hurting is that God has spoken to your pain in the Bible….”When You’re Hurt by the Church Dave Burchett christianitytoday.com
Letting go of victimhood.“You may have been abused by shepherds who should have restored you but instead chose to condemn you (or worse). Or perhaps you have been neglected by churchgoers who should have cared enough to seek you out and return you to the flock. I do not deny that many of us have been victims of the sinful, selfish, and hurtful acts of those in and around the church.

..With physical hurts, we immediately seek help. But emotional and spiritual hurts seem to engender a response unlike any other wound. When we are “shot” by people in the church, we tend to focus on the shooter, not the Healer. This is one of our Enemy’s most effective distraction strategies—he knows that healing is available, and he does not want us to get it. ..” Overcoming a Bad Church Experience By David Sanford focusonthefamily.com\“Anyone can have a bad church experience. Just ask Colleen and Eric.

At first, Colleen and Eric felt great about the church they attended. After all, that’s where they had met, were married, and had started raising their family.

At that point in their lives, Colleen and Eric weren’t really searching for God — just the acceptance of a group of peers. So when they started noticing the church leadership’s apparent contradictions and deception, they kept quiet. What they didn’t know for several years: their church was part of a now-discredited cult.

After Colleen and Eric left the cult, pain, guilt, and doubts plagued them. The experience “caused me to question my own ability to see the truth,” Colleen says. “I had guilt for seeing red flags along the way, but not doing anything about it. You ask God for forgiveness and He gives it, but it’s hard to forgive yourself. I felt cheated, like I had wasted all those years.”

Within a year, however, Colleen and Eric joined the Vista Del Sol church in El Paso, Texas, and began the second religious journey of their life — this time in a healthy church environment.

Colleen’s desire to be accepted was met — this time in a positive environment. “We felt genuinely loved by everyone,” she says. “Walter Muller [the pastor] embraced us and loved us. I think his Austrian background made him have a heart for people who were a little different.”

Despite the guilt that Colleen felt from being in a cult, she wouldn’t change her past. Why? God has allowed her to share her story with and assist others who have had bad church experiences.

THE BEAT by Allen Parr“…How do you respond when you’ve given your life, your time, and a whole bunch of your money to a church only to be disappointed and hurt?

INTRODUCTION: I’ve experienced everything from a pastor in college coming on to me to another pastor calling me the N word from the pulpit during his sermon. I personally know other people who have given their hard-earned money to churches and when they were in need whether it was financial or they or their loved ones were sick no one from the church came to visit them or support them and this has left them bitter and angry towards church. So, today I want to give you just a few things to consider if you’re dealing with church hurt.
1. Don’t allow a bad experience to cause you to drift”…

Any personal stories, suggestions, feedback, comments, etc.. on the content above or any websites/videos you recommend that should be added?